Betting The World Cup 2022 #2

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Match 1 - Recap

Qatar v Ecuador

Qatar's World Cup campaign got off to an inauspicious start, as they become the first host nation to lose in the opening game of the tournament. Enner Valencia struck twice in the first half to help Ecuador to a 2-0 victory. He actually netted three times but had the first effort ruled out for by VAR for a dubious offside decision after just three minutes. Qatar, meanwhile, were flat and ineffective going forward, with only one significant attempt on the opposition goal , which came in the dying seconds of the first half. The second showed a dogged defensive display from Qatar, obviously eager to prevent further embarrasment. To be fair, though, Ecuador did take their foot of the gas considering the job done. That they didn't press their advantage further may come back to haunt them with Goal Difference a potential influencing factor on who goes through from this group. Another disappointing aspect of the game, considering the effort taken by the country to stage the competition, was the mass exodus of spectators during the second half.

The bet

So my first bet of the tournament turns out to be a loss, with Qatar not really showing up to their own party. Perhaps they should have actually played their normal league instead of taking it to "focus" on the World Cup, and gotten used to playing competitive games

Match Day 2

Today we have 3 games to cover, one from Group A and two Group B.

First up is England V Iran

England are coming off a poor run of results in the Nations League where they finished bottom of their group, which was a surprise to many after ding so well to finish as runners up in the delayed Euro's tournament last summer. They face Iran for the first time in this game.

For this match I'm taking England to win at a starting position of -2 goals, meaning a minimum target of a 3-0 victory for England to be winning bet.

Next we have Senegal v Netherlands

Senegalese star player Sadio Mane is out with a knee injury, putting a serious dent in their chances. Even though Netherlands are the clear favourites to win, Senegal will still be a tough proposition. Netherlands are returning to the World Cup stage after failing to qualify for the last World Cup in Russia, so will be lokking to start their campaign solidly this time around.

For this match I'm going for Goals market over 2.5 goals, as I foresee an attacking game from both sides, and thus a minimum of three goals will win this bet.

And finally, we have USA v Wales

Wales find themselves in their first World Cup for in 64 years. This is only the second time they have faced today's opponents, most recently a goalless draw in a friendly in 2020. A similarly tight game is expected.

For that reason, I've taken the Double Chance for this one plumping for Wales to nick it, or grab the Draw. USA are slight favourites on the match result, but with the Draw option added that switches to Wales being slight favourites

There we have it, my three bets for today. I'll be back tomorrow with a recap of today's games and bets, and my thoughts on the 4 games coming up with 2 games from each of Groups C and D

Happy Betting and Good Luck.